Queen Of Snakes

Chapter twenty-seven

'Lady Potter,
With the permission from Lord Malfoy, who we've come to understand is your proxy, we finally had the chance to get in contact with you. We'd like to request a meeting between you, Lady of your house(s) and Lord Malfoy, to discuss more on what you wish to change about Hogwarts. We're more than willing to accommodate you and have your welcome into the wizardry world more than pleasant. A day with less classes would be preferable as we hope to not disrupt you from your studies, please get in contact with us after Hallows' Eve and we can set up a time and date appropriately.
Thank you for your time.
Signed Cornelius Fudge, Head Minister of the Ministry of Magic.

Maeve smirked as she read the formal letter sent by the minister himself, it seems the greedy man is indeed a corrupted individual who craves the power that comes with being associated with those of higher standing. With him scrambling to please her and assure that she feels more than comfortable, it'll be all too easy to have the grimy man eating from the palm of her hand. Especially with the backing of the Malfoy Lord who gives such generous donations, it'll be like taking candy from a baby.

She folded the letter and placed it in the large pocket of her robes, a pale hand reaching upwards to pet the serpent that laid upon her shoulders as she gazed into the flickering flames. Loki insisted having him up would give her a much more intimidating aura, she quite liked seeing the look of fear that momentarily flashed across the faces of those that interacted with her. Maeve even revelled in the irritation and disgust that always managed to break through Dumbledore's grandfather facade, it amused her greatly.

Maeve rummaged through her bag and pulled out a book about wizardry holidays, specifically that in which falls upon October thirty-first. Samhain, a time to honour Hecate and welcome in the Harvest. She began reading, ignoring all sounds around her as she submerged herself into the words.

'Samhain is the final and most well-known and ancient of the eight sacred days. Celebrated after sunset, Samhain means "summer's end." It marks the darker half of the year, ruled by a time of death but also rebirth. The veils between the two worlds draw to their thinnest on Samhain Eve, and time and space become fluid. This is the best time of year to contact and honor one's ancestors.

The mysterious rune of Ihwaz, meaning "yew", represents life and death in its entirety. Symbolizing Yggdasil, the World Tree or The Tree of Life, Ihwaz opens one's inner magic pathways to achieve enlightenment and even the power to recall past lives. This rune is particularly powerful with the assistance of Scorpio in the sky, as well as the ability to harness all four elements.

The tradition of Samhain consists of a runic ritual and a feast, as most sacred day celebrations do. However, the effects of this ritual last long after the feast. Opening the door of the veil allows our ancestor's spirits to accept our offerings, then bestow knowledge from beyond the veil; this wisdom could range from a prophetic vision to knowledge of one's past lives, other times some do not gain much from the experience.

To begin the ritual, gather lilac, mugwort, roots of a pine tree, and fly agaric and arrange them as kindling for the fire in the center of the ritual platform. Next gather ash, oak, yew, and willow to build a small fire on top of the kindling. For this ritual the caster must stand outside of the runic circle, the fire will take their place in the center. Make sure that the fire does not touch the outer lines of the caster circle, the offerings of apples and other food/drinks will be presented in front of the southwest face of the fire. Next, representations of the four elements will be placed in their respective direction. A bowl of water to the north, a red candle to the south, a bowl of soil to the west, and four different colored feathers of the fwooper bird to the east. These will all be placed on the "sacrificial line", the middle line of the runic platform circle. Finally the runestones will be placed in their respective directions on the "outer rune line" (*see ritual diagram #1). For this ritual you will need four Ihwaz stones, as it has four directions. The north will hold an Ihwaz stone and a Laguz stone. The south will hold a Kenaz stone and an Ihwaz stone. The east will have the stones of Ansuz, Raihdo, and Ihwaz. To the east will be the Othala and Ihwaz stones. Finally, the Inguz stone will be placed to the northeast. The caster will stand in front of the Inguz stone for this ritual, leaving the southwest for the spirits to enter the ritual.